


The Moon Guardian

by SonicCeleste



Series: The Life of the Moon Guardian [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: But also kinda scary, Gen, No’a’s nickname origin, Pre-ARR, The Warrior of Light is an overdramatic people-pleaser
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 10:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21013961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonicCeleste/pseuds/SonicCeleste
Summary: A lost Elezen boy looks at the moon and asks her to protect him. The moon sends down a Miqo’te to save him.





	The Moon Guardian

During the day, the Shroud was the perfect place to play. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, the rivers bubbled, and there were so many hiding spots that games of hide-and-seek could take hours!

Though... not usually THIS long.

A young Elezen boy slowly crawled out from his hiding place - an old, empty log - looking around for any sign of his friends as he dusted dirt and bark from his clothes and blond hair. Instead, he found no sign of anyone. It was too quiet for anyone to be around, and too dark to even see far in front of his own face. Where had his friends gone? Did they forget about him? How long had it been been dark for? Long enough for Mother to get mad when he got home, that was certain... if he could find his way home in the first place.

The boy sat on the log and crossed his arms, thinking. Mother always said to stay put if he got lost, but that was always during the day, and always in Gridania, and there were always people around. Now it was night, in the forests, and he was definitely alone. He looked up and saw the moon, large in the sky past the trees, and thought some more. The light made him feel calm, which was odd, but a nice kind of odd. Maybe if he just stayed here, sitting on the log and watching the moon, the moon would watch him back. That moon goddess the Miqo’te around here worshipped - she would notice him staring at her, and she’d protect him. Right?

A loud noise coming from the nearby river made the boy jump. Of course, how could he forget about the monsters? All those bedtime stories Father told him, about children getting lost in the forests after dark and getting eaten... by monsters...

His heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest, but he couldn’t let the monsters see that. He had to be brave. The children in the stories were all scared, and they... He had to be brave. He quickly jumped off the log and faced the river, puffing his chest out like the big brave soldiers in Gridania. He’ll tell the monster what for! He’ll be safe! The moon was watching him!

“HEY! MONSTER!” The boy shouted as loud as he could at the large black shadow in the river. “YOU DON’T... scare...”

His heart felt like it was in his throat now. The monster was looking right at him. It was HUGE. It had creepy, beady little eyes, and a lizard-like body, and its tail was swishing about, splashing in the water as it shifted its body to... to start running right at him. Oh no. No this is very bad. The boy knew he should run, he was the best runner out of all his friends, he could easily scarper out, find another place to hide and watch the moon. He just couldn’t... move. He was terrified, and the monster could tell past his bravery easily. He was coming close, too close, it was going to-

A swish of an arrow. The cry of the monster. Rustling in the trees, then another arrow. The monster cried again, and then it stopped moving. It was dead. Another rustle from the trees, then a shadow jumping to the ground. The moon moved her light through the leaves.

It was another boy, a Miqo’te - he’d never seen a boy Miqo’te in the forests before. He was definitely older than the Elezen, but not really an adult either. It was difficult to see, but the younger boy noticed the Miqo’te had orange eyes that stared right at him - such a bright orange it was kind of unsettling, like a lamplight that led to a dangerous place. The Miqo’te was scary, even if he had saved him, he decided.

“That was some bravery against that Black Eft! You ok, kid?” The Miqo’te asked, flashing him a grin. He had such sharp fangs... It made the Elezen boy even more nervous, but he nodded.

“Thank you, sir,” he said quietly - Mother and Father wouldn’t have him be impolite, even to someone scary. The Miqo’te watched him for a second, tilted his head, then looked back at the creature he killed. He muttered something about a “catch” and “carrying this lug home” - was he out hunting?

“Hey.”

The Miqo’te boy crouched down, smiling. His hair was light blue and longish, parted right down the middle, and his fluffy ears flicked. They looked so soft... so pettable... No. That would be rude.

“What’s your name, kid?” The Miqo’te boy asked, interrupting the other’s thoughts.

“Um... Elwent, sir.”

“El...won?”

“Elwent. With a quiet T.”

“Right...” The Miqo’te boy scrunched his nose. “Well, for the time being, I’ll call you El, ok?” He grinned again, his sharp teeth shining against the moonlight. Come to think of it, he reminded Elwent of the moon, with his pale blue hair and oddly comforting air. He also had wide pupils, like a Hyur or an Elezen. Elwent remembered his tutor saying that out of the two types of Miqo’te...

“Um... You’re a Keeper of the Moon, aren’t you?” Elwent asked. “I... I’m actually lost, so I hoped your moon goddess would protect me before the monster showed up... Did she send you to save me?”

The Miqo’te boy tilted his head again, one ear to the side, before a look of realisation swept across his face and he smiled, jumping up and striking a confident pose.

“That’s right! My name is Vhano’a Katri, and I was sent by the goddess Menphina as a Moon Guardian, to protect lost children like you!” He crouched down again, putting a hand on Elwent’s shoulder. “So how about we get you home, El? I was planning on hunting tonight, but there’s not anything around tonight - even that Black Eft’s mostly useless blubber. Besides, your parents must be worried sick about you. So how ‘bout it?”

Elwent nodded, grinning back. This Moon Guardian wasn’t scary anymore, he decided - his orange eyes seemed like a warm candle glow now that he was up close, and even if he did seem a bit dramatic, he was kind, and strong, and he made Elwent happy just by being happy himself. It was like magic.

“Thank you, Mr V... Va... Hm.” Oh no. Miqo’te names always seemed to catch him off guard.

“Vhano’a. Vhaaa. Noooo. Ahhh.” The Miqo’te said each syllable slowly, and Elwent tried to repeat them, but the H sound was... difficult. Like it was only a sound Miqo’te could make. He wasn’t trying to be rude, not at all! The name was just hard for his little Elezen tongue.

“Vaaaa... V-ha...” The Elezen boy crosses his arms and thought for a moment. “... No’a!”

“... No’a?” repeated the Miqo’te.

“Yeah, No’a! You had trouble with my name, so you called me El. So it’s only fair that I get to call you No’a if I can’t pronounce yours, right?”

Vh... No’a blinked, then nodded. “No’a the Moon Guardian... Sounds like a fair trade to me! Now, where are we heading off to?”

“Gridania,” Elwent replied. “My parents always said that if I get lost outside, I should head to Gridania, where the Twin Adders are!”

“Smart parents,” No’a nodded approvingly. “Right, let’s get you over there El! I can see in the dark, so this’ll be a quick journey, no worries.” He turned his back to the young boy, who climbed onto his back carefully. No’a stood up and started walking at a brisk pace, turning this way and that way, easily making his way through the trees. Even with the cold breeze against his face, Elwent found himself warm and comforted by No’a’s aura, as well as the tune the Miqo’te was humming as he walked. Elwent cosied up against No’a’s back and closed his eyes, letting himself fall asleep. He’d be ok - he had No’a Katri, the Moon Guardian, to protect him.

—————————————————————

6 summers had passed since then. Elwent had grown, not so much as to reach the typical height of a full-grown Elezen but enough to start making his own decisions. He marched up the stairs to the Archer’s Guild with a giant smile on his face, a brand new bow strapped his back. He had managed to convince his parents to start training as an archer in Gridania; his reasoning to them was that he aimed to join the Twin Adders, and while that was still true, it wasn’t the entire reasoning.

For the past two years, tales had been spreading throughout Eorzea about a Warrior of Light who stopped a great Garlean invasion and recently ended a centuries-long war between man and dragon. A Keeper of the Moon Miqo’te with crystal blue hair, a quick wit and a quicker bow. Elwent had seen him a few times in Gridania, reporting to the Twin Adders or performing songs for passers-by. His hair had grown longer still, he wore a wide-brimmed hat to keep from the sunlight, and he now sported rolanberry-coloured tattoos on his cheeks, but that grin and infectious enthusiasm was unmistakable.

Eorzea knew him as No’a Katri, the Warrior of Light - Elwent knew him as No’a the Moon Guardian, and he wanted to be just like him.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: No’a’s name was one big Katrielle Layton reference (Noah is the Japanese name of Ernest), but going by Keeper of the Moon naming conventions, No’a’s mother would be called No.
> 
> Soooooo I made this whole story to justify his name! As you do.


End file.
